Man sexually abused girl for years before her parents caught him, say deputies

Ernesto Mateo-Arias, 31, facing charges

An incident at a family barbecue led to years of sexual abuse for a Lake Worth girl, according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office arrest report.

The girl, now 14, told investigators that Ernesto Mateo-Arias, now 31, of Lake Worth, moved in with her family when she was six. It was at the barbecue when Mateo-Arias found the girl in her bedroom and began molesting her, the report said.

The girl said she was scared and that Mateo-Arias told her not to tell anyone, she told investigators.

The abuse continued for years, according to the report. While everyone else in the home was asleep, he would bring her from the living room, where she slept, into his bedroom.

The girl started sleeping on her mother's bedroom floor, causing the abuse to stop at night. That's when Mateo-Arias started abusing the girl during the day, the report stated.

If he didn't stop, she told him, she would tell her parents. In return, he begged her not to, according to the report.

To protect the girl's identity, the nature of Mateo-Arias' relationship with her wasn't made public.

Mateo-Arias had sex with the girl at least six times before the girl's parents caught him, the report stated. He told the girl that if she got pregnant, he would take care of the baby, she told deputies.

It wasn't until one night, when the girl's mother heard Mateo-Arias' door open, that the abuse finally stopped. The mother got up to find Mateo-Arias standing over her daughter, who at this point was 10 or 11 years old.

The mother started yelling, demanding to know why he was touching her daughter. She grabbed and punched Mateo-Arias, and the girl's father did the same. They kicked him out of the home.

Talking to detectives, the mother said she had grown suspicious of Mateo-Arias because he would give random gifts to her daughter, was frequently around her, and wanted to take her places.

At one point she confronted Mateo-Arias, asking him if anything was going on between him and her daughter. He denied it, she told a detective.

The girl's father cried while talking to detectives. He said that although his wife had suspected abuse, they couldn't prove it, according to the report.

Detectives found Mateo-Arias on Thursday. He said during an interview that he felt remorse for what he did and that "he should suffer the consequences because he knew what he did is wrong," the report stated.

He faces lewd and lascivious and sexual assault charges and was held in Palm Beach County Jail without bail, records show.